Lead Tidbit
Symbolism & Reality
Symbolically, Tish'a b'Av is fading away this year. Symbolically, not halachically. Tish'a b'Av this year is about as late as it gets in the secular calendar. August 14th. Symbolically, we pushed 9Av as late as we can. Or it waited around until the last minute, so to speak. The fast ends at 7:53pm (in Jerusalem), just about the earliest it ever ends. (Compare 1994's Tish'a b'Av on July 17th, which ended at 8:15pm.) Not that much later, but remember, we're talking symbolically. This year, there is no "week in which Tish'a b'Av falls", the most intensive mourning period leading up to Tish'a b'Av itself. (Of course all this could have been said about 9Av 1986 or 1967 (keep going back 19 years at a time), but we are looking at this year's Tish'a b'Av. There is no pre-Tish'a b'Av mourner's meal this year. Usually, the sedras of Pinchas, Matot, Mas'ei, and D'varim all are part of the mournful "Three Weeks". This year Pinchas was read on a regular Shabbat. Significantly, it is Parshat Pinchas that contains the portion of the daily sacrifices and the communal Musafim brought in the Beit HaMikdash. Reading about that not in the period of mourning the Churban. Albeit the Three Weeks started the following day, but at least we have a symbolic fading of Tish'a b'Av.

Reality check #1: Tish'a b'Av is still with us. Mourning the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash is still with us. Worse still is the fact that the causes of the destruction are still part of our society's behavior, be it turning away from G-d and the Torah or be it Sin'at Chinam, we still suffer the causes of the Destruction, which prevents the rebuilding of the Mikdash. And that means that it is as if the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed in our generation. Mourning the sin of the spies is still with us - and worse, the ongoing sin of the spies in our own time, with fine upstanding Jews speaking (and feeling) negative about living in Israel. With fine upstanding Jews unashamedly spouting the Meraglim line: It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Reality check #2: Tish'a b'Av's fading away this year might only be symbolic, but we have it within our abilities to make Tish'a b'Av fade away for real. And this is the only thing that prevents the facts of Reality check #1 from being paralyzingly depressing. If we strengthen our own commitment to Torah and Mitzvot, to the Jewish People, and to Eretz Yisrael and then (or better, at the same time), spread Torah ideals and values to our fellow Jews, encourage our fellow Jews to live a Torah life, in Eretz Yisrael... then G-d, so to speak, will see that all the causes of Destruction have been repaired and there is no longer any reason for the Beit HaMikdash to remain in ruin. That there is no longer any reason to delay the Mashiach. That there is no longer any reason to hold back the Geula Sh'leima. It's not an easy job ahead of us, but can you imagine any task that is more worthwhile?